As our family's understanding of home education evolves, some ideas and concepts keep surfacing. They have been helpful in weeding through the massive amounts of pressure (both social and self-imposed) and material surrounding this topic.
Here they are ... the ideas that are keeping me anchored:
Home education is less about curriculum, book lists, or the minutiae of day-to-day planning and structure. Home education is just that: the education of a home. It's a way of being that promotes education for every person in it, not just the ones whose ages fall between the arbitrary lines of K-12.
We believe that every person has a unique life mission to which they are perfectly suited to fulfill. Thus, the ultimate goal of home education is to support every family member in discovering, pursuing, and fulfilling this life mission.
Home education has everything to do with the feeling found in the home. When a home feels safe, peaceful, and happy, it's open to learn. When a home approaches learning with feelings of excitement, dedication, wonder, discipline, love, delight, faith, and courage (just getting going), there's no stopping it!